Lebanese Premier Resigns as Syrian War Fuels Sectarian Split

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s prime minister resigned on Friday and called for a national unity government to rescue the country from deepening sectarian divisions over the war in neighboring Syria, which threatens to spill over the border. Lebanon’s most powerful political factions back opposite sides in the Syrian conflict.

Advisers to Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he had resigned to protest the cabinet’s refusal to extend the tenure of the national police chief, viewed by many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon as their only remaining protector in the country’s deeply politicized security forces. He also objected to Parliament’s failure to agree on rules to govern elections set for later this year.

“The region is descending into the unknown; regional fires are infecting us with their heat; and internal divisions are leaving deep scars,” Mr. Mikati said in a speech Friday night, calling for all political factions to “shoulder their responsibility” and seek consensus.

The crisis reflects the growing sense of insecurity among Lebanon’s many religious sects, whose precarious balance of power is increasingly endangered as the strongest political faction, the Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah, backs the Syrian government, and its Sunni rivals support the Sunni-led Syrian insurgency.

Lebanese fighters increasingly take part in the war next door, on either side, and a flood of Syrian refugees threatens to overwhelm Lebanon, whose economy has already been devastated by the instability.

The impasse over the police chief further reflects the fragility of Lebanese institutions. With power vested in political parties and individuals, having a police chief perceived as sympathetic to them is crucial for Sunnis, who view the army and General Security forces as pro-Hezbollah.

Fares Gemayel, the prime minister’s media adviser, said the dispute was one of many signs that Mr. Mikati could no longer hold the middle ground between Hezbollah and its Sunni rivals.

Mr. Mikati was named prime minister with Hezbollah’s support to bridge the gap, “but this situation no longer exists,” Mr. Gemayel said, adding, “If the government continues like this, the division will continue.”

Mr. Mikati is a Sunni billionaire from the northern city of Tripoli, where violence has flared between supporters and opponents of the Syrian government. Under Lebanon’s confessional system of government, which apportions political posts by sect, the prime minister must be Sunni.

Mr. Mikati had threatened twice before to resign. The first time was in November 2011 when the government dragged its feet on financing the tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in which the Syrian government and Hezbollah have been suspected. The second was last fall, after a car bomb killed Wissam al-Hassan, the police intelligence chief and a foe of the Syrian government.

Both times Mr. Mikati stayed, saying that he had received assurances that the interests of all factions would be protected.

This week, the cabinet refused to extend the tenure of the police chief, Maj. Gen. Ashraf al-Rifi, who is due to retire. General Rifi was a main figure in the Internal Security Forces and whose clout and expertise will be difficult to replace.

Losing General Rifi will leave Sunnis feeling vulnerable, said Imad Salamey, a political-science professor at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. And it makes Mr. Mikati “look like nothing but a part of Hezbollah’s and the Syrian regime’s conspiracy to undermine Sunnis and extend Iranian influence in Lebanon,” Mr. Salamey added. “So he decided to emerge out of this crisis as a hero and regain some of his credibility.”

Many Lebanese will be happy to see a new government, analysts said, at a time of economic instability and growing national debt.

With Mr. Mikati seen as too close to Hezbollah and his main Sunni rival, Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated former prime minister, largely absent from the political scene, Sunni extremists have been filling the leadership vacuum, fueling sectarian statements and encouraging Lebanese Sunnis to join the fight in Syria.

Syria retaliated last week using warplanes to strike a border area where Sunni fighters cross, increasing fears that Lebanon will be dragged into the war.

If the president accepts his resignation, Mr. Mikati will head a caretaker government until a new one is formed, which could take months. Analysts said there was a chance of establishing a technocratic government with representation from all factions.

Pressing to increase its influence would not necessarily help Hezbollah now because it would play into Sunni fears and bring protesters into the street, said Elias Muhanna, a professor at Brown University who analyzes Lebanese politics on his blog, Qifa Nabki.

Mr. Muhanna said all sides might have decided it was time to “reboot” a government that was increasingly deadlocked. “We’ve got the blue screen,” he said, extending the computer analogy. “There’s nothing we can do except hit restart.”

Hwaida Saad and Hania Mourtada contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Lebanese Prime Minister Resigns as Sectarian Tensions Rise With Syria Crisis. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe